We'll Have Fun Tomorrow
by Hyperthia
Summary: "Why can't you sleep?" he asked. His little sister remained silent for a while, and Jack could feel her fingers as she toyed uneasily with a stray thread on his nightshirt. After a long silence she finally responded, "I had another nightmare." ONESHOT.


_A/N: I caved and wrote a ROTG drabble thingy. I hope no one's already come up with this idea, but if someone already has then oh well, I guess.  
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_Also, before anyone says anything: Jack's sister doesn't have an official name, so I'm calling her Emma. And no, her name is not Pippa. Pippa is Jamie's tall friend, so hush! Also, I apologize for any spelling mistakes and general awkwardness; it's been a while since I've written anything other than essays! __Reviews and critiques are awesome._  


_EDIT: I can always tell when Tumblr people review my stories because you always mention your "feels" xD (not a bad thing, btw. That _was_ my goal after all)  
_

_I don't own anything. Blah blah. Anyways…_

_We'll Have Fun Tomorrow_

A strong gust of wind pelted snow against the tiny cabin, rattling the window above Jack's bed. He cracked his eyes open, glaring irritably at the snow as it assaulted the glass. It had been hours since the family had retired for the night, but Jack hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He huffed quietly, pulling his covers up until they were touching his chin and he had to draw his feet up to keep them from sticking out at the bottom. He made a mental note to ask his mother if she could make his quilt longer.

He rolled over and was about to shut his eyes again when he noticed a tiny mass moving through the darkness toward his bed, accompanied by the small pitter patter of someone tip-toeing.

"You don't have to sneak up on me, Emma," he whispered, careful not to wake his parents across the cabin. "I'm awake."

Emma stalled in her tracks. "Sorry," she murmured, sounding embarrassed. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, the wind's been keeping me up." Jack propped himself up on his elbow and gazed through the darkness toward his sister. There was barely enough light from the outside for Jack to make out his sister's face. She looked distressed, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, and even in the dark Jack could tell she was shaking from head to toe. "What's wrong," he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.

"I can't sleep," she said simply, trying and failing to keep her voice even.

Jack knew there was more to it than that, but he grinned and pulled his covers back anyway. "Okay, get in," he said with a small laugh, scooting over to give her some room.

"Don't laugh at me," she grumbled, but she crawled under the covers with her big brother, easily settling herself against his chest.

"I would _never_ laugh at you," Jack said, his grin never faltering as he brought the covers back up, carefully tucking her in before wrapping his arm around her.

"Yes you would," Emma growled, giving her brother a small kick. "You're always making fun of me."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Jack laughed a little anyways, ignoring the scowl his little sister sent him. "Why can't you sleep?" he asked.

His little sister remained silent for a while, and Jack could feel her fingers as she toyed uneasily with a stray thread on his nightshirt. After a long silence she finally responded, "I had another nightmare." Jack could hear a distinct quiver in her voice.

Jack drew back a little to look down at his sister, his smile fading. "Another one?" he asked, and she nodded sniffling into his nightshirt.

"It was the worst one I've ever had," she said. She looked up at her brother, and that's when Jack noticed how red and puffy her eyes were. Jack's frown only deepened when Emma suddenly buried her face into her brother's chest and started sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay, Emma," he said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. "Please don't cry. It was just a bad dream."

Emma only responded by getting as close to Jack as she possibly could, clinging to his nightshirt as if her life depended on it. Her shaking increased, and he swore he could feel her heart beating through her chest. Jack petted her hair, trying to calm her by whispering soothing nonsense into her ear. She used his chest to muffle her cries, trying not to disturb their sleeping parents. Eventually, Emma's body relaxed as her crying quieted down, and her sobs turned into small hiccups. There was another long silence and thinking Emma had fallen asleep, Jack relaxed as well, allowing his eyes to slip shut but never taking his hand off of his sister's head.

"You died," she said suddenly, her voice tired and hoarse. "In my nightmare. You died."

Jack's brown eyes widened at the revelation. Emma had been having a lot of nightmares over the last few months, but nothing ever quite like that. "What happened?" he asked, trying not to sound disturbed.

"The Boogeyman got you and killed you."

Their parents had always told Emma that the Boogeyman wasn't real, but Jack knew that that never actually helped. He didn't believe in the Boogeyman either but the source of Emma's fear was very real to her, and telling her otherwise would be mocking her fear. So Jack always played along.

"None of that is going to happen," he said, smiling down at her. "I can take the Boogeyman in a fight. You know that. Remember when I went under your bed and beat him up?" Emma giggled a little. Really, all Jack had done was crawl under her bed and thrash his limbs around while yelling various expletives at the "Boogeyman." Mother was not impressed, but Emma had at least felt better afterward.

"How come the Boogeyman never hides under your bed?" she asked.

"Because I'm not afraid of him," said Jack, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Emma's ear. "If you stop being afraid of him, he'll have no choice but to leave."

Emma went back to toying with the stray thread on Jack's nightshirt, mulling over her thoughts. Jack could sense the doubt that still lingered there.

"And about that nightmare," he said. "That's all it was, a bad dream. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Emma asked, looking up at him, her face red and tear-stained. Jack gently rubbed his thumb under her eyes, wiping away some of the wetness that was still there.

"I promise," he said before kissing her forehead and hugging her even closer. He tucked her head under his chin and sighed. "How about we do something fun tomorrow. Would you like that?"

Emma took a moment to consider his proposal before finally nodding her head and murmuring a tiny "uh-huh."

"Alright," he said excitedly. "You know, the lake should be frozen solid by tomorrow. We can go ice skating."

His little sister seemed to hesitate with the idea for a moment, but eventually a tiny smile appeared on her lips and she nodded. "I'd like that," she said.

"Ice skating it is, then," Jack said with a grin. Emma suddenly let out a yawn, and Jack could barely stifle one of his own. "Let's get some sleep."

Emma nodded her head, murmuring a quiet goodnight as exhaustion quickly took over. Jack carefully tucked the blankets tighter around her before settling his arm over her and stroking her hair like he always did on nights like this.

"Love you," he heard Emma murmur quietly against his chest.

"Love you too, Sis."

_- End._


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